


the bubble

by tackypanda



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Non-Canon Ryder Backgrounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 02:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10323965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tackypanda/pseuds/tackypanda
Summary: Ryder’s presence in Kallo’s life is as loud and steady as the sound of her bubblegum.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this was just supposed to be a lil one shot but it turned into a monster because i've written most of this when i should be sleeping and i'm very wordy and have a lot of wild ideas during the ~late night~. obviously the canon characters' personalities are based solely on speculation and what we've seen of preview footage. anyway my kingdom for a salarian romance ball is in your fucking court bioware.

Kallo was used to repetitive noises, being a pilot and all. The steady beeping of the radar, the hum of the tech - as long as nothing was loud or alarming (like, you know, _alarms_ ) it was practically soothing. There was a routine in it all that he appreciated - he even found himself tracking time to the noise if he was too absorbed in flying. He admittedly grew frazzled every time there was a noticeable change, even if it didn’t indicate a problem. Still, things always returned back to normal, and so did his countenance.

That all changed when Dianna Ryder - the _oddest_  choice for a Pathfinder - started spending a lot of her free time on the flight deck. Hanging off of Suvi’s chair, engaging her and the others in occasional chatter, pacing in the background. And worst of all, the pink monstrosity she insisted on chewing, inflating, and popping 80% of the time. _Bubblegum._

Everyone part of the program knew that Alec Ryder’s twins were more than just the skills their father lauded them for. They were too undisciplined to have been in the Alliance long, too discolored by bruises and scars that one would get on the streets rather than the battlefield, too dodgy when it came to questions about their supposed professions. Not to mention they arrived with crates full of possessions - clothes they apparently couldn’t live without, years’ supply of the damn gum, among other things they weren’t quite willing to disclose. Dominic mostly kept to himself, when he wasn’t comatose that is, but was very pleasant and overtly kind to everyone who wasn’t his father. Dianna was graceful in movement only - she was unusually curt with him when they were introduced, which didn’t help his impressions of her much, but when she opened her mouth every time after, it just was like the ship alarms were going off. She was all volume in everything she did, and while that was something that their crewmates such as Peebee were fans of, he couldn’t say he was.

Perhaps he’d have the time to change his opinion if he was allowed more moments of peace in the day without that _chew chew chew chew chew_ _fwooop POP_  driving him to the edge of his patience. 

“Ryder,” he finally said the day she chose to move closer to him than ever. It was the first word he spoken to her outside of their meeting and usual business - his tone was as cold as hers had been. “You’re free to go wherever you want, of course, but if you’re going to spend time here, _please_  stop chewing bubblegum. It’s bothersome.”

She came into his line of vision, her mouth gaping and covered in pink gunk. “Oh.” She sounded unusually defeated, and he couldn’t help the brief stab of guilt that shot through his abdomen. She fished a napkin out of the pocket of her sweater and spit the bubblegum into it; he could have done without having to watch that. “Sorry, Kallo. I’ll-- sorry.” He’d never heard her voice that low or soft before - he had to admit, it was nice. She made a prompt exit after that, and that was that.

“Wow, Kal.” Suvi whistled, shaking her head. “I would have talked to her if I knew she was bothering you.”

“Not her - not really.” He frowned a bit. “I don’t know. But it’s alright.”

* * *

 “My name is Dianna,” the woman in question blurted out when she marched up to the flight deck the next day. “Or Di. Whatever you’re into, it’s all good.”

Kallo blinked at her. “I know.”

“Call me that, though. Not Ryder.” She tugged on the sleeves of her shirt, looking ill at ease. 

“Okay, then... Dianna.”

Her broad shoulders relaxed and she smiled, revealing a mouthful of white but crooked teeth. “Good. Cool.” She smacked her hands down on the side of the console. “So! Are you busy?”

“Well, we’re not moving, but I should really keep monitoring the--”

“Great!” She wrapped her muscular arms around his comparatively noodle-like one and tugged him halfway out of his chair before seemingly remembering herself and letting him plop back down. “I’m-- hm. This is going terribly.” The absurdity of the situation was punctuated by Suvi’s laughter.

“Did you want something from me?” Was all he could think to ask. Not that the answer wasn’t obvious, but a reason would be nice.

“Yes! I want to talk to you.” Suvi’s laughter grew even more rambunctious, and Dianna just waved her off. 

“You want to _talk_  to me? About what? Do you have concerns about my piloting?”

She stood there for a moment, her impressive height and built frame making her an imposing figure even in casual wear. He hadn’t met many people interested in Prothean archaeology, but still, none of them looked like _that._ “The opposite, I swear. I think you’re-- god, Suvi, shut up!” The laughing died down a bit, but not completely. She deflated even further. “Uh.. another time?”

His mind agreed. But his mouth had other ideas. “We could go elsewhere?”

That brought a smile to her face again, but she just shook her head. “Nah, it’s cool. Later.”

He stared at Suvi as she calmed down, shaking the hair out of her face. “What? I thought you didn’t want to talk to her.”

“She’s the one who seems to be having trouble talking to me.”

“Uh-huh.”

* * *

 They ‘talked’, in the technical sense. Greeted each other, spoke about their jobs, things like that, but he couldn’t help but notice the lack of fire in her eyes she had that day she came back. Everyone on the Tempest agreed she was something of an enigma, and as much conversation as she engaged in with others, they left feeling like they didn’t get to know her much at all. It rattled them, how she came away from their discussions holding some of their most personal information, and all they had was annoyance over her desire to make every pun on her name possible. Even if her brother was around to prod for information, they doubted he’d tell them.

“I think she’s different around you, Kallo,” Liam noted after the ground team came back from a mission. He hung around the flight deck while Vetra and Dianna were in the med bay being treated for superficial wounds, a fact that didn’t pass Kallo by without a stab of another _something_  in his chest. “Every time you’re brought up, she just... I dunno. She’s either lighting up out of joy or the desire to do you harm.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever encountered someone like her before.” Kallo sighed, taking a moment to run a hand over his face. “I don’t normally leave much of an impression on people for them to have a particularly strong opinion of me outside of my flying.”

“Oh come on, man, you’re one of the best of us.” Liam nudged his shoulder with a warm smile, doing wonders to help Kallo feel more content with the situation. He had enough stress on his shoulders flying the whole Tempest - he didn’t need the Pathfinder’s confusing hot/cold tendencies to weigh on his mind.

“Kallo?” Dr. Lexi’s voice came over the comms somewhat hesitantly. “If you’re not too occupied right now, Ryder is asking for you. Whenever you have a moment to spare, of course.”

“Ah. Well... there you go.” Liam could only watch as Kallo rose from his chair, and made his way to the med bay as calmly as ever. When he arrived, the asari was nowhere to be found - there was only Dianna, smiling as soon as she saw him. 

“Good! I didn’t have to wait.” She snorted as she hopped off her bed, mostly unscathed appearance-wise save for a few cuts on her face. He vaguely remembered a conversation she’d had with Suvi about hair, how she didn’t like wearing more than a respirator out in the field because she would have to bunch up her locks inside a helmet. Clearly her stubbornness was hurting her more than helping, but... as much as human grooming habits perplexed him, he could appreciate how the results looked on her. He blinked, and suddenly she was in front of him, holding out a bandage. “I thought it’d be wise to meet in the med bay. A good place to... _mend_  our relationship.”

He couldn’t get a word out in before she clapped her hands together and doubled over, worrying him until she started cackling. He couldn’t find the humor in what she’d said, but he supposed he agreed with the sentiment. “Oh, god, why am I _like_ this?” She tapered off, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, before ripping the adhesive off the bandage and pressing it to his chest. 

“We really shouldn’t waste bandages.” Frankly, he was worried about getting it off without damaging his suit. 

“You’re right, you’re right. I thought it was funny.” She rubbed her hands together, pressing the tips of her fingers to her lips. “Look, I get that you’re a guy who doesn’t like to fu-- mess around. And I’m... well, I’m the opposite.” She chuckled bitterly. “But I... _ugh_ , would it bother you if I chewed some gum?”

He stiffened at the memory, but then again, it wasn’t like he had something important to focus on. That, and she seemed to _need_  it. “No. Go ahead.”

She gave him a grateful smile as she pulled a rectangle wrapped in tin foil out of one of the slits in her under armor (how many pockets did she have on her, exactly?). “It’s just--” She paused to actually put the stick of gum in her mouth, taking a few seconds to chew. “I’m not good at reading people, you know? Or relating to people at all. Like on a broad ‘we need to help these people let’s build stuff for them and protect them from the kett’ level, hell yeah, but with you guys here? I’m...” She sighed, blowing a bubble and popping it dejectedly.

Was she opening up to him? He certainly hadn’t expected him - hell, he had never been in a situation like this before - but he’d piloted the Tempest through some tough obstacles. He could _attempt_  to help her until the doctor came back. “Your first concern should be with being a Pathfinder, and in that regard, you’re doing well. In my opinion, at least.”

She froze, her brows disappearing into her hairline. “You think so?”

“I just said that I did, didn’t I?”

“That’s fair.” She twirled a strand of shiny black hair around her finger, staring at it inquisitively. “My hair used to be much longer, you know. Down to here.” She pressed her other hand to her ribs. “Dad made me cut it before this whole thing started, said it was ‘impractical’. I’ll tell you what was impractical, giving me and Dom an ultimatum - ‘come with us to Andromeda or fend for yourselves now that you’re really in trouble’.”

That piqued Kallo’s interest considerably. “Trouble? This wasn’t your choice?”

Dianna merely shrugged, wincing because of her still healing shoulder. “In a sense. I’m sure all of you figured out right away that we’re not typical military.”

Kallo actually managed a smirk. “In a sense.”

“Hey! Look at you go!” She nudged him with her left elbow, drawing his attention to a word in a language he didn’t understand tattooed around the joint. “Eh, it’s all six hundred years in the past.” Her smile turned more cringe-like. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Anything you tell me, I’ll hold in the utmost confidence. Unless it poses a threat to the crew or ship, of course.”

She chuckled. “Hey, the fact that you’re willing to listen is good enough.” She directed a soft _pop_  at him, and he just now registered that he hadn’t even been aware of the sound of her gum until now. Huh. “Thanks, Kallo.”

“You’re welcome, Dianna.” A pressing question moved to the front of his mind. “You seem awfully fixated on me. Why is that?”

She gaped again, much like that first time, only this time the gum fell right out of her mouth. Any potential answer was put on hold as the doctor came back in, watching them with a raised brow. “Are you done hogging my med bay?”

“Yes! And I am fine to leave, thank you.” Dianna all but shouted, her voice cracking as she picked up the gum and flung it into the nearest trash receptacle. Kallo found himself chuckling at the sight. “Hey, you should come with me to the rec room or something - you could tell me about you, for once!”

He was primed to say he needed to get back to the flight deck, do his job. But something stirred yet again in him at the sight of a woman who could probably lift him and carry him over her shoulder (and _had_  to Liam after a particularly close call) looking at him with such hope. Maybe it was all as simple as her just wanting to know him, wanting to be his friend. A friend he could use. “Let’s go.”

* * *

 Dianna became a different person after that - around him, at least. Calmer, more stationary, relaxed. She talked more than ever, but without the constant fumbling over her words or need to _project_ , she seemed quieter. Their conversation was stimulating, both personal and shop talk after she revealed a hidden interest in technical maintenance which he then fostered having her help them try to restore the systems after Gil ‘upgraded’ them without his consent. She even revealed a fascination with medical science, which she attributed to following Mordin Solus’s work for years, though she had no desire to pursue it herself.

She was certainly a woman of many layers, layers he didn’t know if the rest of the crew had a chance to peel away yet. They gossiped about the friendship, sometimes even prodded him to tell them what went on or what exactly they were doing. But he never humored them, for her sake. _Maybe_ his sake, as well.

As much as he’d grown to enjoy talking to her, his favorite times with her were spent in silence, most commonly with him in his pilot’s chair and her right next to him. Before, her hanging off his chair was an annoyance; now it was a comfort.

When there weren’t people barging in and trying to pick a fight with her, at least.

“Stop trying to deny it, Ryder, I _know_ you took my damn bottle of asari honey mead.” The guy currently breathing down her neck had been a problem since day one - why she kept interacting with him every time she went to the Nexus, Kallo didn't know.

Dianna was entirely uninterested, fiddling with her omni tool in the mean time. “Did I deny it, Kallo? Do you remember that?”

“I don’t believe you did, Dianna.”

“See? I took it and it was delicious, thanks.”

The guy fumed. “Aren’t you supposed to be above that kind of crap? Our Illustrious Pathfinder?”

Dianna scoffed so loud Kallo was thrown off. “Maybe next time you’ll think before you try to start shit over an accident that happened _literal_ centuries ago.”

“Your damn animal of a brother couldn’t control himself or his biotics. Must’ve been all that red sand.”

Kallo nearly tripped out his chair trying to get up fast enough to hold Dianna back from tackling him to the floor, only to realize she hadn’t actually moved. Since when had he developed _that_  instinct? “You’re lucky all I did was steal your liquor.” All she did was smile at him, a chilling thing devoid of all mirth. The space was tense for a few moments, Suvi actually moving behind the heaving man in case she had to do some restraining of her own.

“ _You’re_  lucky I’ve kept my mouth shut about where I know Dominic from.” 

“She will kick your ass, I wouldn’t keep trying,” Kallo found himself saying before his brain could catch up, and all attention in the room was suddenly on him. Yet, he couldn’t stop. “Unless you’d like to give us the opportunity to place some bets for easy credits?”

The fight left him in a huff, and he quickly spun on his heel to storm off. “You’re getting me another one,” he called back over his shoulder.

“Whatever. _Métetelo por el culo._ ” She turned to Kallo, beaming in a way he had yet to see. “I didn’t think you had it in you, man. That was hilarious.”

He was thrown off yet again by the apparent translator glitch. “I wouldn’t call it ‘hilarious’, per se. Still, I’m glad you appreciated it. He deserves to be knocked down a peg - however it happens.”

“Yeah, well-- maybe I’ll _accidentally_  ram into him the next time I see him in Vortex.” She rubbed his shoulder, physical contact that had become increasingly more routine, and went back to her omni tool.

“It’s always so fun to come out with you! Whether it’s for some good talking, or watching you fight.” Suvi walked over and nudged her in the arm. “I love it.”

“That’s what I’m here for. And making sure this  _tight-ass_ has some fun.”

“I can hear you! And I have fun!”

“Sure you do, man.”

Suvi had a very sly look on her face for a moment, but it was gone soon after. “What was it you said to him?”

“Oh, did it not come through the translator? Spanish slang, you know...” She cleared her throat, looking a little embarrassed. “’Stick it up your ass’. You know, the new bottle of brandy.”

Kallo let out an exasperated sigh while Suvi laughed, but he allowed himself a little chuckle while he could hide it.

When everything was calm again, he couldn’t help but wonder what was so bad about her brother’s past that it had to be kept under wraps. At the start of all this, he would have alerted someone. Now, he didn’t have the heart.

* * *

He didn’t have to wonder for long. Drack and Vetra almost died on their latest sojourn, and from the way Dianna stormed down to her cabin without a word, she clearly blamed herself. Cora followed her not long after - a big gesture, considering the animosity that had exploded between the two more than once. That was why no one was surprised when they emerged yelling at each other.

“Cora, don’t be like that, it’s _not_  like that.” Dianna’s speech was slurred - and she was _gliding_  in wheeled shoes. A sight that drew even more confusion from everyone watching.

“Oh, you and your brother _didn’t_ fabricate your backgrounds to get into the program?”

“...Okay, it’s like _that_ , but--”

“I don’t believe this! It’s one thing that I was passed up in favor of--”

“Get over that already! What the hell is your problem?! Be happy you didn’t have all of my fucking responsibilities! You think I know what I’m doing?”

“Because you’re untested! You’re untrained! You’re a roller-skating stripper!”

“A _what_?” The question was blurted out by several people, Liam, Gil, and Peebee included, to varying levels of excitement.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, it was sweet.” Dianna stumbled a bit on her skates. “And I did ‘em separately, anyway.”

“You worked for Aria T’Loak, and your brother was in Eclipse. How are you not understanding how dire this is?”

“Everyone had to work for somebody on Omega! For fuck’s sake, Cora. You wanna ask me how many people we killed, how many people have _you_  killed?”

Cora pressed her fist to her forehead, the momentary pause to regain her composure revealing just how many people were whispering around them. “The worst of all was that you kept this from us. You were content to pretend you weren’t hiding anything until you happened to get drunk and shoved your father’s datapad on you in my face while claiming ‘I can’t do this and here’s why’.”

“Yeah, well... you know what? You telling me I can’t makes me want to.”

“Very mature.”

“Oh, bite me. We did hide it from you, you know why? Dad wanted us to. We were his pet project gone bad because we ran away to be delinquents when he was grooming us to be _him_. And we only came back when we were in deep shit and needed help, and this was supposed to be our _punishment_ , forced shaping up. And he couldn’t have his children come in as criminals, oh no - security and, ugh, _archaeology_. I took one class in college! That’s it! He thought it was more ethical to pretend we were something we’re not than _not_  lie to the Alliance!”

Cora was visibly softening, but still holding her ground. “You could have told us once he was gone.”

“Nah. Because this would have happened. And I owe it to Dom to let his own past stay the past, because he’s _stuck_ and can’t make a better future for himself like he wanted. And me, you know? Did I want this? Hell no. Have I complained? No. Have I done the best I can? Yeah. Can I keep doing it? I don’t fucking know, leave me alone.”

She nearly bumped in Kallo as she was trying to roll back to the elevator, frozen in his place where he’d been since the fight started. “I _do_  apologize to you,” was all she said before leaving.

Well. It certainly explained a lot.

Cora visited him later that night, pacing behind him before finally striking up a conversation. “Did I overreact?”

“I’m not the best person to ask about that.”

“You know her better than anyone else.”

“Do I?” It wasn’t an accusation, just confusion.

“As far as I know; she spends most of her time around you. Not to mention I’ve never seen anyone else getting you to talk so much about things that don’t have to do with the ship.”

“...That’s very true.” Quite frankly, with all he knew now, he didn’t know why someone like her showed so much interest in him. They couldn’t be more different.

Well, mostly.

“How do you feel about the whole thing, anyway?”

“She often hinted that her record might be deceptive, and that she was in some sort of trouble and the Initiative wasn’t her choice. I never thought it was necessary to press her on it.”

“Right; salarians and their quick processing of feelings.” She huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You don’t think it’s a problem now?”

He forced himself to consider it, the logic behind her question. That had always been his first resort in any problem. But when it came to Dianna, his mouth had other ideas. “With all due respect, her past has not impacted her ability to be Pathfinder. She may have been inexperienced in the beginning, but she’s learned and trained, as we all have. We all worry if the way we do things is the _right_  way to do them, and if we’re good enough to even have the right to judge, do we not?”

“I-- no, you’re right.” She stared at him with a raised brow, as if she was shocked he had the capacity to be so insightful. It was new to him, too. “I just need some time to... accept it, I guess. Have a good night.”

Only after she left did he notice Suvi watching him, her chin in her palm. “That was sweet of you.”

“How? I was just stating facts.”

“Exactly.”

* * *

 Not 24 hours later did Peebee rush in to gush to Suvi about all the digging she’d done on Dianna’s origins. Well, one aspect in particular. “Galaxy-wide roller derby! How did something that magnificent slip right past me?”

“Wait, slow down, _what_  are you yappin’ about?”

“Women in roller skates - that’s what they’re called - and fun outfits rolling around a track beating each other up and trying to be the fastest. No biotics allowed, either! It’s just so primal and _awesome_. Description wouldn’t do justice to actual footage, but as far as I know, none’s available out here. Dianna seems like the kind of person who’d have her bouts - the games - recorded just so she could watch herself.” She slid her feet across the floor, trying to mimic the movements she’d seen in pictures. “I bet she’d love to teach me.”

“Sounds like too much trouble, if you ask me.”

“I’m sorry, did you say ‘sounds like an effective battle strategy’? Because that’s what I heard. Drack would be on board for sure.”

“I meant her teaching you.”

“ _Ha ha._ We like it that way.”

“Peebee?”

She blinked over at Kallo’s sudden interjection. “My bad - excited.”

“No, it’s not that.” He had an idea - he didn’t know quite how he felt about it, but it was there. “How hard did you look for this information?”

“Just scratched the surface, why?”

“Keep looking. For footage.”

Peebee’s face lit up so intensely, he could have sworn he was staring into a sun. It was terrifying. “Of Dianna?”

“I-- any.”

“Uh-huh. You got it, Kallo.” He didn’t know what was more unnerving - how her face opened up, or the wink she gave him after.

“Please stop.”

He didn’t expect anything to come of it - started to _hope_ , actually - but when Liam dragged Dianna out of her self-imposed quarantine for movie night, she came face to face with footage of one of her earliest bouts.

“What...?” She squeaked out, having to take a moment to catch her breath so she wouldn’t choke on her bubblegum.

“I got a tip.” Kallo thanked his lucky stars Peebee made no indication towards him. “We wanted to see you in action.”

“But--”

“We’ve all done questionable things, Dianna. It doesn’t mean we’re not fit to be here.” Vetra placed an ever-comforting hand on her shoulder.

“’Questionable’, don’t know what you guys are talking about. I danced in a skin tight bikini for a living and made good enough credits I got to do this on the side, I had a _great_  life.” Not everyone laughed, but she didn’t seem phased. They all settled in to watch her team, the Smack Ops (a name which actually got a chuckle out of Cora) and their colorful assortment of alien women face off against an all-human (though that was debatable, as they all had cybernetic implants) team named the Iridium Angels.

It didn’t take long for everyone to get into it.

“Go _around_  them, you tiny quarian!” Gil screamed, sitting back in his chair with a huff. “She’s so lithe, how is she not faster?”

“It seems unfair they would pit you against a team with enhancements, no?” Jaal squinted, before his eyes blew wide before the turian on the team swooped in front of their jammer at the last second and tripped her up. “Oh. I stand corrected.” Vetra rose her drink with a laugh. “What is _that_  alien? The gruesome one.”

“Don’t be mean, that’s a vorcha. Most of them were straight up ‘do anything it takes to survive’ gutter trash and murderers, but all the ones I hung out with on Omega were pretty cool. That one is Trik; miss her.”

“All vorcha were ever good for was cannon fodder.” Drack chuckled at Di’s offended expression, patting her leg. “I’ll give that one credit, she knows what she’s doing.

“I’m loving the elcor announcer.” Liam threw his head back with a chortle. “’With bloodthirsty enjoyment: wow, did you see how she nailed her?’”

“Is that asari the captain?” Dianna nodded, bringing a grin to Lexi’s face. “Naturally.”

“Nah yeah, she was great. Could think up plays like nobody.” She scratched at her head, her lips pursed. “They were a great team. Always wondered how they managed after I left.”

Peebee cringed before snapping her fingers. “Aren’t we going to talk about how you’re doing _now_? I thought you were a wall of meat in combat but this is something else.”

“You really know how to charm a woman, Peebee.”

“I try.”

A chorus of ‘oh shits’ and whoops sounded around the room when Dianna dug her elbow into the gut of the jammer trying to pass her. “Yeah, I was benched for that. Gave her internal bleeding.”

“Internal bleeding?” Drack busted a gut (no pun intended) laughing, pounding his foot on the floor twice. “Kid, you’re after my own heart.”

He started a round of applause for her, prompting her to get up and bow with a flourish. “Thank you, thank you, I truly am still that amazing six hundred years later.” She sat back on the couch, but it didn’t escape Peebee’s notice that her eyes lingered on her current position leaning on Kallo’s back.

“Hey flyguy.” She nudged him in the side. “You’ve been awfully quiet. What do you think of all this?”

What _did_  he think? Peebee’s description certainly didn’t do it justice, but he didn’t know how he could ever visualize something like roller derby without a visual cue. Had Dianna not been in it, he didn’t think he would enjoy watching it on a regular basis. But getting a taste of of how she fought, how she carried herself when she didn’t have a care in the world beyond that... “It’s mesmerizing. You have a lot of skill, Dianna. _Effective_  skill.”

“Move over, Peebee, you’re hogging him.” He had no time to react before she wedged herself between them, and in the place of fleshy tentacles brushing against his suit was soft hair, reaching far enough to tickle his neck. There wasn’t a sensation in recent memory as pleasant. If anyone noticed his own head gradually coming to rest against hers, they said nothing. He wouldn’t have cared, anyway - after a while, all he could hear was that _chew chew chew chew chew fwooop POP._

* * *

 The crew was tighter-knit than ever after that night - there were certain tensions that could only be healed by time, of course, but they were well on their way. Not every aspect of being closer to these people appealed to Kallo, however - namely, the feeling like everyone was watching him more than usual, especially when Dianna was around, and no one would be clear as to why. At first, he attributed it to the even more positive changes in their Pathfinder lately, how much she’d grown as a person since the beginning, but that seemed too simple. The most straight-forward answer he ever received was a “you like each other” from Liam. 

Of course they liked each other, they were friends. _Very_  close friends by salarian standards, and apparently by every other standard with how much everyone was overreacting. So close that he found himself constantly missing her presence when she wasn’t around, slowly developing a sense of humor to counter hers, preening every time she paid him a compliment or praised his skill when he was in earshot, wanting to feel her hair against his skin again. He never had a connection that strong before - he assumed they were all like that.

They were nearing the turning point of the conflict, every one could feel it - Dianna was handling things as well as could be expected, but some days she was bogged down by fatigue or felt too sick to her stomach to finish dinner. Tonight was one such night, and Kallo felt compelled to go down to her cabin to check on her once he was done. “Are you alright, Di?” He had only recently begun to use a nickname - as informal as that was, he thought they were past that point.

She rose from her bed with a start, staring at him with wide eyes. “Ah, good! You’re here! Saves me the trouble of having to go to the flight deck and drag you-- whatever. You’re here.” She jumped up and started pacing.

“Your speech patterns are regressing, I don’t take that as a good sign.” He moved to stand in front of her, gently grabbing her upper arms to still her. “Will you tell me what’s wrong?”

She stared at him for several long moments, her breathing shallow. “I spoke to my brother. Spoke _at_ , since he’s still out of commission. I hated it.”

“His prognosis was good when you last spoke to Harry about it, has something changed?”

“No-- but if it’s good, shouldn’t he be awake by now?” She chuckled bitterly, rubbing at her eyes. “I want to be able to tell him about everything that happened and have him _actually_  hear me. Respond to me. Get to meet all of you and find even a _slice_  of the immense happiness you guys have given me. He deserves it more than I do, I've been wasting my time here.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t _ever_  say that.” 

She smiled despite herself. “That’s fair.”

“Dominic is going to wake up. And he’s going to be proud of you, I promise.”

“You know a lot of things, so it makes sense that you’d know this too.” She wrapped her arms around him, causing him to freeze momentarily as her strong fingers slid up his back. “Oh, I wasn’t thinking, I’ll--”

He hugged her in turn, keeping his arms loose to try it out for a short time before tightening his hold and burying his face into her hair. She shuddered and melted against him, resting her forehead on his shoulder. “Should I even say I’m scared of what’s coming or did you gather that already?”

“You’ll handle it all. I know _that_ , too.”

He felt her body vibrate against his as she laughed. “Too smart for your own good.” They held onto each other for a few minutes of uninterrupted peace; Dianna’s fingers tracing languidly along his spine weren’t even enough to break him out of it. “I love you, Kallo.”

 _That_ broke him out of it.

She was wrong - he didn’t know very much outside of his chosen fields, but he’d learned enough about human social cues to know that this love she felt for him wasn’t remotely friendly or familial. Not enough to have recognized what he interpreted as gestures of friendship from her as much more than that, but... still. As was often the case with her, a lot of her behavior began to make sense after the truth was out.

She was the first to tear away from their hug, her face a mask of panic. “Oh god, did I screw everything up? I screwed it up.”

“No! You didn’t.” He was the one afraid of screwing things up. Could what he felt for her be called love? He had no base of comparison to draw from - he spent his relatively young life assuming he’d eventually have to enter a breeding contract like all other salarians. He never heard tell of salarians being involved in a _romance_ aside from with asari, but he always attributed that to their seemingly natural ability to attract anyone of any race. “I... are you sure about this?”

Dianna had the grace not to look offended, at least. “I’m not known for having a lot of dignity, but the big things should only be said when they’re meant. And I _mean_  it. I honestly wonder sometimes how we even managed to get here despite how different we are - well, actually it was _my_  stubborn persistence because I found you interesting and cute, nevermind - but we’re _here_  and I just...” In lieu of words, she made a wild gesture with her arms. 

“...You found me _cute_?”

“That’s what you take away from it? Holy shit.” She clapped her hands together, pressing them to her face. “Okay, look, I’m just gonna be straight with you, no more dancing around my feelings and acting like a shy idiot. I love you, legit, full on hearts when I see you and a warm feeling in my chest. I get that salarians don’t feel much sexual attraction, and that’s not what I want from you, I swear. Just... if there’s any part of you that could eventually love me back, however long it takes, any desire to be with me and do what we’re already doing but with more affection and our friends being grossed out and you maybe sleeping here and shit... consider it.”

There had been a fair amount of romance in the vids they watched on movie night - he actually appreciated that her own declaration was nothing like the fabricated, fake, overly dramatic speeches in those. There was drama, of course, but the kind he could handle. He hoped.

The best he could do was be honest in turn. “Dianna, I have no experience with this. I don’t even know what I feel, other than that I care about you. Is that really what you want? To wait around for an answer you’re satisfied with?”

“That’s not what I meant.” She groaned, digging her heel into the floor. “I will take whatever you’re willing to give me. Honest. With just one stipulation, if you’re willing.”

“Alright. What?”

“A kiss. I don’t know how it’d work, our faces are _so_  different, but... I really want to. Only with your consent.”

Of all the things to ask for, he couldn’t quite decide if this was good or bad. Her utterly earnest expression, however, was the nail in his coffin. “Uh... alright. Yes. If you are disappointed, I apologize.”

“I’ll be disappointed if I put this off any longer.” She took his hands and gingerly pulled him close to her again, and without hesitation, pressed her lips to his. She was as intent in this as everything else, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing further as soon as he showed the slightest sign of reciprocation. 

Though he struggled to catch up at first, he finally understood why the kiss was such a staple of romance. The angle, the difference in their physiology, and his inexperience made things slightly awkward, but that couldn’t compare to the deep, strong feeling filling his head and chest like never before. He was quick to attribute it to euphoria rather than love, but if being in love was like this, he hoped he felt it for her soon.

She pulled away smirking, still staying close enough that he could feel her sugar-scented breath fan over his face. “That was better than what I was hoping for. I thought you were just gonna stand there.”

“I enjoyed it. Very much.” He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist.

She drew in an exaggerated gasp. “Did you really? Who would have ever thought kissing me would be enjoyable?”

“Give me a break.” He knew better than to ask, but... “Would you like to do it again?”

“Hah! Yes.” He was the one to try to initiate it this time, only to knock their heads together. “Wow, salarian heads are really hard. Try aiming with your lips next time.”

“You’re relentless.” He kissed her mid-chuckle, a _very_  satisfying strategy he filed away for later.

* * *

They kissed a couple more times. Sat next to each other at dinner, allowed her to sit in his lap while he piloted _once_  (but as that nearly ended in disaster, never again), spent the one night she couldn't sleep in each others' arms, but that wad all. They hadn’t even told the crew, despite how utterly obvious they were being. He warmed up to it quicker than he thought he would, but despire Dianna’s claims, she clearly wasn’t happy with taking things so slow. She didn’t want to pressure him, she said, but he caught her staring at him expectantly more often than not. Hardly fair of her, but when days without an overt move of aggression by the kett stretched into weeks, he couldn’t blame her for being constantly on edge. He just wished that what he offered her was enough.

The worst symptom of all was that the sound of her gum had gone back to being an annoyance with how much she had started to chew it around him again.

“Dianna, please stop.”

Dianna blinked several times, looking around the flight deck in confusion. “That gave me some severe deja vu. Like uh, the feeling that you’ve been in this exact place hearing the exact thing before.”

That interaction _had_  been eerily reminiscent of the one that kickstarted their relationship. He smirked at the thought. “You’re right.”

She plucked her gum out of her mouth with a sigh. “Chewing gum is my nervous habit. I didn’t used to be very good at talking at people, though I’m sure you picked up on that. Gave me an excuse not to.” She sighed yet again, longer and more defeated. “I haven’t been fair to you lately.”

“You’ve been under a great amount of stress, I understand.”

“When am I not, though?” She combed her hair back with her free hand, moving to lean against his chair. “I guess I thought... you’d magically come around to wanting some super open romantic thing if I said I was okay with whatever you wanted. That’s...”

“Not good,” he finished for her. “I understand, truly, if you're unsatisfied. I enjoy what we have, but if you wish to find someone who--”

“No, I can be patient, I swear.” She moved to sit on her knees, wrapping one hand around the arm of the chair and the other around his wrist. “I’m not gonna let you go because I’m being dumb, okay? You’re what I want.”

He couldn’t help but grin, putting his hand atop hers when he could afford to take it off the controls. “Okay.”

“And hey, when this is all over, we’re going to have all the time in the world to figure this out.”

“Not _all_  the time, unfortunately. Salarian lifespans.”

“Let’s not think about mortality right now! Let’s think about you and me doing whatever the hell we want, you gaining a really protective loving brother whenever Dom fucking wakes up, you and me getting a place away from meddling crewmates. And a whole lot of these.” She leaned in for a kiss, but fell flat on her ass as soon as the ship alarms went off. “Are you _kidding_ me?! Right now?!”

“Dianna, we need you, it’s the Archon.” Despite how dire the situation was, she could hear the smile in Cora’s voice over the comms. “Tell your _boyfriend_ you’ll be back.”

“He's not my-- _ugh_. I could rip someone in half right now, I’m ready.” She smiled apologetically at Kallo, who was caught between worry and amusement. “This is it. I love you, be back later.”

He couldn’t say ‘I love you’, not yet, but she deserved something with just as much weight. “Please come back safe.” He reached out to stroke her cheek. “I'm not letting you go, either.”

She beamed at him before grabbing him by the back of his neck and pressing a kiss to his forehead, leaving him stunned and admittedly bashful as she jogged away to ready herself.

Hours later, Kallo found himself wandering up to her cabin. He wasn’t worried, not really, but caring about someone as he had grown to really upped the stake, guaranteed that the loss one person would hurt much worse than any loss he'd considered before. They said they wouldn't let each other go, however - now would be a great time for Dianna to improve upon keeping her promises.

He noticed an open package of gum on her desk, and overtaken with curiosity and a need to busy himself with _something_ , he took a stick and unwrapped it as he’d seen her do several times. He made a brief sound of disgust before sticking it into his mouth.

That was how he spent the night - going through four sticks of gum until he no longer gagged on them, chewing and chewing despite despising the taste because he needed to hear it. He need to replicate that ever present constant in his life for the brief period of time where he didn’t know if he would ever get it back or not. He wouldn’t tell her - she would only pout.

As soon as she came back on the Tempest, sweaty and bloody but victorious, he embraced her and proudly proclaimed “your gum tastes disgusting” in front of everyone. She could pout all she wanted.


End file.
